Peery Foundation - Social Entrepreneurship Portfolio Director
Location: US, CA, Palo Alto
Employment type: Full-time
Required experience: Mid-Senior level
Required education: Bachelor's Degree
Industry: Philanthropy
Function: Project Management

Company profile:
Smarter Good is an innovative global services firm for social sector organizations - a for-profit company with a strong social mission and focus on systemic change. Our clients are social entrepreneur-led nonprofit organizations with measurable impact and a unique theory of change. We create more impact by scaling their solutions to the size of the need, helping solve our world's most intractable problems. Our clients focus on a spectrum of issues including: design for impact, maternal health, impact sourcing, economic empowerment, media, girls’ education, disaster preparedness and social entrepreneurship acceleration. Smarter Good is led by Jane Leu, an award-winning social entrepreneur and Ashoka Fellow. 

Job description:
The Peery Foundation is a Palo Alto-based family foundation. Our mission is to strengthen youth and families to build lives of dignity and self-reliance. We do this by investing in and serving social entrepreneurs and leading organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the world. We approach our grantees as customers and to us that means leaving the big, hairy problem-solving to our grantees and focusing on how to create a funding environment that better enables their success. As a foundation still in development, we encourage grantees to make the rules, design our programs from extensive input from social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders, and value honest feedback on how we are doing. We are looking for a like-minded Program Manager who would like to join us in building our foundation’s grantee-centered philanthropy programs and investing in impact for Bay Area communities.Program Description:Our Regional and Global Portfolios are focused on investing in social-entrepreneur-led early to mid-stage organizations whose models have the potential for measurable impact in increasing economic opportunities for the poor. Under these portfolios, we also invest in the expansion of programs, with proven models. Some of the current grantees in these portfolios include Beyond 12, BUILD, Living Goods, myAgro, One Acre Fund, Samasource, and Year Up.The Social Entrepreneurship Portfolio Director is a new position with the Foundation's evolving team, joining the Local Portfolio Director who oversees the foundation's place-based work in East Palo Alto and reporting to the Executive Director. This role will likely involve needs assessment and support in the hiring process for additional talent to manage these portfolios. The Social Entrepreneurship Portfolio Director will be responsible for the ongoing development and execution of our regional and global programs and will use his or her leadership and operational expertise gained at a social entrepreneurial organization (domestic or international) or enterprise to influence grantee-centric philanthropy. In addition to developing these portfolios, the Director will be a key spokesperson for the foundation’s practices and philosophy on grantee-centered philanthropy. This is a full-time position based in Palo Alto, California, with 20-30% travel--both domestic and international.The ideal candidate for this role is both visionary and pragmatic, has worked within a leading social entrepreneurial organization that has reached a later stage of development, and knows first-hand the joys and challenges of turning vision into reality, including the obstacles organizations must overcome to grow their funding base, teams and impact. While grant-making experience is helpful, it is not required. We would especially welcome hearing from candidates with direct operational experience with grant-seeking and a passion for developing and promoting grantee-centered philanthropy.Responsibilities:Work with the Executive Director to develop and refine the Foundation’s regional/global grant making and venture philanthropy strategy and systemsSource and perform diligence on potential granteesAssume a service-oriented role in support of grantees, anticipate their needs, and find ways to support and connect them to resources and networksDevelop and foster relationships with colleague funders to source deals as well as leverage our fundingEvaluate opportunities that might further the Foundation’s mission or that of its granteesReport to and keep the Executive Director apprised of grantee developments and needs

Requirements:
Qualifications (education/skills, etc.):Bachelor’s degree required, graduate degree preferred Minimum 8 years professional experience and 4 years social innovation/social enterprise experienceSubstantial experience within the growth cycle of social enterprises, including  operations and fundraising experienceDeep knowledge and networks within social entrepreneurship and social innovation ecosystemsAttributes:High levels of motivation, drive, and eagerness for the work, the team, and the visionExcellent interpersonal skills; able to interact comfortably whether at a high-level conference, with funders, the homeless, or with elementary school children and parents. Ability to represent the foundation in public settings, forums, panel discussions, meetings, etc. in a confident and persuasive mannerExcellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to convey complex ideas and questions in a straightforward fashionAbility to manage the interests of multiple stakeholders simultaneously: grantees, funding partners, the Peery familyAbility to promote, draw from, and positively influence a collaborative environmentStrong organizational and leadership skills with demonstrated ability to execute and work autonomouslyHighly creative; able to solve problems in new waysHigh level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness. This position requires a high level of confidentialityAvailable for occasional domestic travelThe ideal candidate will be humble, bright, articulate, detailed, proactive, a team player and very professional--yet personable and friendly. A sense of humor is mandatory!***Do not submit a cover letter when completing this application. Instead, please attach your most recent resume as well as answer the following short questions thoughtfully. Thanks!

Benefits: